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hearken

verb heark·en \ ˈhär-kən \
variants: or harken

Definition of hearken

hearkened or harkened; hearkening play \ˈhärk-niŋ, ˈhär-kə-\ or harkening
intransitive verb
1 : listen
  • hearkened without much mental comment
  • —Theodore Dreiser
2 : to give respectful attention
  • the humble folk who hearkened to these evangelists
  • —G. M. Stephenson
transitive verb
archaic : to give heed to : hear

See hearken defined for kids

Examples of hearken in a Sentence

  1. hearken! I hear the distant beat of the hooves of many horses

Origin and Etymology of hearken

Middle English herknen, from Old English heorcnian; akin to Old High German hōrechen to listen, Old English hīeran to hear

hearken Synonyms

Synonyms

attend, hark, harken, hear, heed, listen, mind;

Antonyms

ignore, tune out;

Near Antonyms

discount, disregard;

Phrases

prick up one's ears;

HEARKEN Defined for Kids

hearken

verb hear·ken \ ˈhär-kən \

Definition of hearken for Students

hearkened; hearkening
: listen 1

Learn More about hearken

  1. See words that rhyme with hearken Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hearken Spanish Central: Translation of hearken Nglish: Translation of hearken for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of hearken for Arabic speakers

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